


Camping is Fun

by Leahelisabeth (fortheloveofcamelot)



Series: All for the Game Tumblr Prompts [13]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Camping, Ghost Stories, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-13 03:04:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20575400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fortheloveofcamelot/pseuds/Leahelisabeth
Summary: Andrew and his family goes on a camping trip.Written for crochan on Tumblr for the prompt: "Ghosts aren't real, for God's sake!"





	Camping is Fun

“Why did I let you talk me into this anyway?” Andrew grumbled as he stumbled into yet another patch of muddy ground. His feet were heavy from the mud coating the soles and he practically had to change his gait to accommodate for it. When they started out he had scraped the mud off on the trees every time but he was no beyond fed up.

“I’ve never been camping,” Neil said. “And Nicky couldn’t bear the thought of me missing another ‘essential growing up memory.’” 

Andrew groaned. He was going to kill Nicky. First, for teaching Neil about air quotes. Second, for teaching Neil about FOMO. Third, for ruining Andrew’s favourite boots. “Are we almost there?”

Neil consulted the map, brow furrowed. “I think so? I think Nicky drew this himself and it’s not exactly to scale.”

Andrew trudged up beside Neil and snatched the map. It was definitely hand drawn and it made almost zero sense.

“I think that’s the rock outcropping we just passed and I’ve been keeping the stream on our left. It should be just over this hill,” Neil explained.

“If it isn’t, we’re going back. Fuck camping!” Andrew said, pushing on ahead.

Neil caught up right away because somehow he had managed to miss the worst of the mud so he wasn’t dragging another fifty pounds on the soles of his feet.

They reached the top of the hill and saw the end of the trail. Nicky had borrowed Matt’s truck and it was parked by a small pit and three tents were set up around the perimeter of the clearing. Nicky was perched on a log by the fire, setting up a spit to roast the fish in the basket beside him. Andrew marched over to his cousin and placed his hands around his neck.

“Andrew, you made...erk,” Nicky choked as his airway was almost closed off.

“Why did we have to hike in when clearly we could have driven?” Andrew asked dangerously.

Nicky wheezed. “Not enough room for everyone. Neil’s camping experience.”

“I’ll show you camping experience,” Andrew growled.

“Andrew,” Erik’s mild voice came from the door of one of the tents. “Can you maybe wait to kill my fiance until after I’ve married him?” 

Neil caught up and dragged Andrew away, laughing. “It’s okay, I don’t mind.”

“I mind.” Andrew glared back at his cousin. “I mind very much.”

Neil leaned in close. “I’ll make it up to you later.” Promise coloured his voice and Andrew could feel himself blushing.

“Fine,” Andrew growled. “I won’t kill him so long as he remembered to bring stuff for s’mores.”

“What do you take me for?” Nicky asked. “I promised Neil a classic camping experience. I brought like five bags of marshmallows.”

Andrew nodded. “You’ve earned yourself a stay of execution but you’re on thin fucking ice.”

“Which tent is ours?” Neil asked.

“Yours is there,” Nicky gestured to the one on the right. “Katelyn and Aaron are on the left and Erik and I are in the center.”

“Where is Aaron, anyway?” Neil asked.

“He and Katelyn went to check out the swimming hole. If you value your eyes, I suggest you not join them,” Erik said, coming to join them by the fire.

Neil flushed red and didn’t argue. He didn’t say anything to Aaron when they returned, flushed and dripping wet with buttons mismatched and hair in wild tangles.

Supper was okay. Erik had caught plenty of fish for all of them and Nicky was surprisingly good at preparing them over the campfire. They were crisp on the outside but melted on the tongue. He’d also wrapped some potatoes in foil and baked them over the coals. 

The sun was going down, turning the sky to pink and orange flame and Nicky rummaged around in the bed of the truck, coming out with a couple grocery bags full of marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers.

Aaron showed Neil how to find a good straight green stick and peel off all the bark. Andrew watched too. He had only had s’mores once, when Cass and Richard had taken him camping for Labor Day weekend. They had their own metal sticks for roasting and he had never had to find his own. It had been a good weekend, one of the last before Drake had started coming home to visit.

The first marshmallow he roasted burst into flame. He managed to blow it out before it got completely charred. The sticky sweetness was a little bitter from the burnt sugar and the inside was still solid because it had cooked too fast but it was still delicious with the warm chocolate and the graham cracker.

Neil tried one. He managed about half before he fed the rest of it to Andrew. Andrew’s next marshmallow was more even and he was sudden;y grateful for a boyfriend who didn’t enjoy sweets because even though Neil was not interested in eating more s’mores, he was thrilled by the challenge of roasting a perfect golden brown marshmallow and Andrew could stuff himself with his own and with Neil’s.

After a while, long before all the marshmallows were gone, Andrew sat back and tossed his stick into the fire. His stomach was heavy and full, lips still sticky from marshmallow. Neil copied him and leaned back, a solid weight at his side. Andrew turned his head to look over at Neil. Neil’s expression was soft and he carefully leaned forward and kissed him.

“Mmm, tastes better that way,” Neil grinned cheekily.

Nicky squealed from across the fire and Neil jumped away.

Andrew glared at Nicky, who had to grace to look sorry.

“Let’s tell ghost stories!” Nicky said, rubbing his hands together gleefully.

A chorus of groans sounded around the campfire.

“Nicky, why?” Aaron asked.

“Neil? Have you ever heard ghost stories around a campfire?” Nicky asked.

“Uh...no…” Neil said slowly.

“Well there you have it. Authenticity is key.” Nicky stood and dug through his bag for the flashlight. “I’ll go first.”

Neil settled back in at Andrew’s side now that the attention was off of him once more.

“It happened in a place much like this. The forest was old and dark, full of forgotten spaces. A little girl lived on the edge of the forest in a tiny house with her mother and father and big sister. The older girl despised her younger sister. She had been happy before she came along to steal her parents love.

“One night, the little girl was sleeping soundly when her older sister came in and carried her away. She carried her for hours until the last light from nearby towns disappeared from the sky and the last sound from any road faded into the distance and no path but her own footsteps marred the ground beneath her feet. She laid her sister at the foot of an old oak tree and silently slipped away, covering her trail behind her.

“When the little girl woke, she was alone. There was no sound but the birds and the whispering of wind through the trees. There was no light but the stars. She tried to find her way home but she was too far away and she kept going around in circles until she wound up back at the beginning at the foot of the old oak tree.

“She sat down and wept and the cold stole her breath and time stole her life and no one came looking here for this one little lost girl.

“The spirit of the oak tree took pity on her. He grew a blanket of moss to cover her. He sent out tendrils from his roots to wind around her limbs and make her dance in the light of the moon. He whispered to her trapped soul and fanned the flames of her anger until they burned bright and all she dreamed of was revenge on her big sister who had wronged her.

“The story would end here if her sister were smart enough to stay away. But she crept back the next summer to see the place her little sister lay but she did not find a body, she found a little girl dressed in green, leaves through her hair, and an unnatural light burning in her eyes, dancing in the moonlight.

“Sister,” the little girl cried. “You’ve returned to dance with me!”

“The big sister turned to run but it was too late. The little girl ran after her and wound her arms around her, hugging her tight and forcing the breath from her body. The oak tree clothed her too after her death and now both of them dance on nights the moon is full. They will not bother you unless they sense that you have been cruel to your own flesh and blood, like not listening to his great ideas or having a bad attitude when he tries to do something nice. If they look into your heart and see your cruelty, they’ll bind you too and turn you into a puppet…”

“What the fuck, Nicky?” Aaron interrupted. 

“Cruelty includes interrupting your cousin’s ghost story,” Nicky said primly.

Andrew scooped up a few pine cones from the ground and began tossing them into Nicky’s hair. Neil giggled breathlessly at his side.

“I don’t know why I even bother,” Nicky muttered.

“Is that supposed to be fun?” Neil asked.

Nicky threw up his hands and dragged Erik to his feet. “Come, my love, we’re going to take a walk in the moonlight. Leave these assholes to stew in their bad attitudes.”

Erik wrapped his arms around Nicky from behind and whispered in his ear. Nicky giggled and willingly led the way into the dark.

Aaron rolled his eyes and he and Katelyn went into their tent. Andrew could hear them talking and laughing in low tones but he couldn’t hear what was being said.

He and Neil were left alone to sit by the fire.

“What do you think of camping?” Andrew finally asked.

“Some of it’s nice,” Neil said. “I like having a fire and the food was good. The few times I’ve slept outside, we were staying in the car and we didn’t dare light a fire to give away our position. It was old gas station snacks and dressing in every piece of clothing we owned and still shivering until we could get back on the road.”

“Your life is a fucking tragedy,” Andrew said, rubbing his hand carefully up and down Neil’s side.

Neil grinned at him wickedly. “But I’m not so sure about this whole ghost thing. I’m so scared. Hold me.”

Andrew found himself suddenly holding a lapful of warm and willing Neil. “Ghosts aren’t real, for God’s sake!” But he tightened his arms around Neil anyway.

“I’m glad I have a big strong man to protect me,” Neil said, leaning close.

Andrew could see exactly what Neil wanted and he wanted it too. He caught Neil’s mouth in a deep kiss. Maybe camping wasn’t so bad after all.

“Stop your gross flirting!” Aaron shouted from his tent, breaking up their kiss. “I can hear every word.”

Neil laughed and instead of returning to the hot and searing kiss, he lay his head on Andrew’s shoulders. They both watched the stars.


End file.
